Mounting arrangement for demountable containers on railway cars



D66 1963' J. E. GUTRIDGE Filed' Aug. 23, 1967 Y uvvsmron yRIDGE JACK E.y

United States Patent Office I 3,416,464 Patented Dec. 17, 1968 3,416,464MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT FOR DEMOUNT- ABLE CONTAINERS ON RAILWAY CARS JackE. Gutridge, Dyer, Ind., assignor to Pullman Incorporated, Chicago,Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 23, 1967, Ser. No. 662,770 4Claims. (Cl. 105366) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A railway car havingupstanding side sills providing tire guides for highway trailers carriedhereon includes container mounting brackets which are movable from arest position to an erect operative position wherein they coact with thefour corner brackets of a container carried on the car. The bracketsinclude supporting beams which cooperate with the upstanding side sillsof the car and which may be disposed in a non-used or rest positionlying fiat on the deck of the car so as to permit loading and unloadingof trailers with the mounting brackets providing a minimum obstructionrelative to the rolling of the wheels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This inventionrelates to railway cars of the flat deck type which are suitable forboth trailer-on-flat-car operation (TOFC) and container-on-fiat-caroperation (COFC). Where the railway car is used for COFC the containersare carried on mounting brackets which are disposed at the four cornersof each container and provides a mounting means to resist thelongitudinal and lateral forces to which the container is subjectedduring transport. The mounting means or brackets are generally locatedin the area of the trailer over which the wheeled chassis roll andtherefore the mounting brackets must be adapted to accommodate thistravel with a minimum of obstruction.

Description of the prior art The prior art has recognized the diflicultyof providing suitable container brackets on railway cars alternatelycarrying TOFC or COFC. Thus container brackets have been provided whichare hinged at the outer edges of the railway car and are movable from aposition below the car to a position on top of the car for carrying thecontainers. Such arrangements have design limitations as well as thevarious designs wherein the brackets are recessed in pockets within thedeck structure. The prior art most pertinent with respect to the presentinvention is applicants Patent 3,257,970, patented June 28, 1966'. Thepar- .ticular container bracket design shown in the aforementioned.patent is particularly adaptable to fiat cars having downwardlyextending side sills with rub rails disposed in the central portion ofthe car for guiding the trailer wheels. The present invention isparticularly concerned with container brackets for a railway flat carhaving upwardly extending side sills which include rub rails or tireguides performing the guiding function for guiding trailer wheels.

SUMMARY The invention here relates to a simplified container bracket ormounting arrangement for supporting a container on a flat car which isalso adapted for TOFC operation. The mounting arrangement is provided tosupport each container at four corner positions and includes a firstbeam which engages the ends of the containerto provide longitudinalsupport. The beam in turn is hingedly connected to a second transversebeam which is secured to the upper flanges of the side sills of the carand in this manner the first beam is maintained in an upright operativeposition by the support provided by the second beam. During TOFCoperations the first beam is positioned fiat on the deck and the secondsupport beam is disengaged from its connected arrangement to the sidesill and is also laid flat on the deck of the fiat car. The transversesupport beam includes abutment means for normally engaging the sidewallsof the container to support them against transverse shifting movementand in the flat-ondeck or rest position of the beams the abutment meansis disposed in a recess provided in the floor of the car.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is primarilyconcerned with a railway flat car generally designated by the referencecharacter 10 in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. The type of railway car 10 isdisclosed in applicants above mentioned patent, the primary difierencein the present car illustrated being that it is constructed withupstanding side sills 14 which extend upwardly from a flat deck 11. Thecar is of a type that is generally utilized both for trailer-on-flat-caroperation (TOFC) and which also can be used for container-onflat-caroperation (COFC). For trailer operation the trailers and their wheelsuspensions are supported on the deck 11 and the units are suitablysecured to the railway car by means of trailer hitches (notillustrated). The loading and unloading of the TOFC operation is bydriving the trailers up onto the deck 11 utilizing the rub rails 15 orthe inner guide surfaces 16 for guiding the wheels. The deck 11 issupported on and by the stringers 12 in turn supported by cross supports13. The wheels of the trailer generally roll in the area of the deck 11immediately adjacent to the rub rail 15. It is to be understood that therub rail 15 is a spacer for narrow width trailer suspensions and thatthe side sills 14 inner guide surfaces 16 may be utilized by removal ofthe rub rail 15 for trailer suspensions of greater width.

For container operations the container is lowered onto the flat deck ofthe car and is supported at its four corners by means of an equal numberofmounting supports or bracket arrangements generally indicated by thereference character 17.

Each mounting arrangement 17 comprises a longitudinally extending hingedbeam 18 provided with hinge ears 19. The hinge ears 19 are connected tohinge brackets 20 supported on the deck and hinging movement is effectedby hinge pins 21. Thus the beam 18 may be moved to the vertical orcontainer support position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Each beam 18 also comprises a vertical projecting abutment means 22having a vertically extending abutment surface 23 and a relativelyhorizontally supporting surface 24. An inclined guide surface 25 isprovided on the abutment means 22. The abutment means 22 also supports alock pin 26 which may be moved in sliding relation with respect to abore 27 provided on the abutment means. The pin 26 also includes ahandle 28 for operator actuation.

As best shown in FIG. 3 the surface 24 includes an undercut or recessedportion 29. The beam 18 may be maintained in a vertical operativeposition by means of a beam 30 which is hingedly mounted within therecess or undercut 29 by means of a hinge pin 31 supported by the beam18. The beam 30 extends transversely and includes an intermediateupwardly inclined section 32 connected to a horizontal section 33overlying a flange 14 as shown in FIG. 3 of the side sill 14. As bestshown in FIG. 1 the section 33 is provided with an opening 34. The beam30 is also provided with abutment means 35 having an inclined surface 36and a vertical abutment surface 37.

An upwardly extending tapered cylindrical member 38 is securely fastenedto the flange 14 of the side sill 14. In the position indicated in FIG.3 the cylindrical member 38 is securely engaged in the opening 34 whichis shaped to substantially complement the shape of said cylindricalmember. A latch element 39 may be pivoted about a vertical pivot 40supported on the flange 14 OPERATION Referring to FIG. 1 the beams 18and 30 are in a rest position on the deck 11 of the car. The deck hasbeen recessed as indicated at 41 to provide a pocket 42 in which theintermediate section 32 and horizontal section 33 of the member 30 arepositioned. As indicated in FIG. 3 the rub rail 15 is suitably aperturedat 43 to accommodate the intermediate section 32 of the beam 30 in itssupporting position.

In the rest position shown in FIG. 1 the mounting arrangement isdisposed fiat upon the deck and trailer wheels may be readily drivenover the substantally flat beams without their providing any appreciableobstruction. When the railway car is utilized for container operationeach of the four mounting arrangements for each container are placedinto the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The beam 18 is first raised tothe position indicated in FIG. 3 and the beam 30 is then pivoted intothe position where the cylindrical member 38 engages the opening 34whereupon the beam 18 is rigidly held in the vertical position againsthinging movement. The latch element 39 is then rotated into the positionshown in FIG. 3 so that the beam 30 is held against verticaldisplacement. The container 50 is now lowered onto the support surfacesprovided by the beams 18 and 30. The inclined surfaces 25 and 36 providefor guiding movement of the corners of the container into properposition. The abutment surfaces 23 and 37 cradle the corners of thecontainer 50 in such a manner as to prevent longitudinal and lateraldisplacement thereof due to the forces to which the car may besubjected. The operator then inserts the pins 26 into openings providedin the corner fittings of the container these fittings being standardand not being illustrated. Thus the containers 50 are held againstvertical displacement. To return the railway car to TOFC operation it issimply necessary to disengage the latch 39, pivot the beam 30 and placethe beams 18 and 30 in the position indicated in FIG. 1.

What is claimed is:

1. A container mounting bracket for a railway car having a floor,upwardly extending side sills adjacent opposite sides of said floor, andsaid side sills including longitudinally extending tire guide means onthe inner sides of said side sills, comprising:

a first flat beam extending longitudinally of said car, means turnablymounting said first beam on the floor for hinging movement between ahorizontal rest position on said floor to an erect positionsubstantially normal thereto, a second beam pivotally connected to saidfirst beam about a longitudinal axis, said second beam extendingtransversely from said first beam to one of said side sills, meansdetachably connecting said second beam to said side sill whereby saidsecond beam in the attached position supports said first beam in theerect position, abutment means on said first beam adapted to engage anend wall of a container resisting horizontal forces applied on saidcontainer longitudinally of said car, and abutment means on said secondbeam in said supporting position relative to said first beam adapted toengage a side wall of said container to resist horizontal load forces onsaid container applied laterally of said railway car, and said first andsecond beams being pivotal relative to the floor and to each other tothe rest position upon detachment of said second beam from said sidesill whereby both beams lie fiat relative to said floor. 2. A containermounting bracket in accordance with claim 1,

said floor having a recessed pocket disposed beneath the top of saidfloor, said pocket receiving said abutment means of said second beam inthe rest position. 3. A container mounting bracket in accordance withclaim 2,

said detach-able connecting means comprising an opening providedadjacent one end of said second beam, and a vertical projecting elementon said side sill engageable in said opening. 4. A container mountingbracket in accordance with claim 3,

said detachable connecting means including a releasable latch elementengaging said second beam to retain said projecting element within saidopening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1964 Willison et al. 3666/1966 Gutl'idge l05-366 U.S. Cl. X.R. 105368; 2481l9

